LINDA FUERST JOINS NORTON ROSELinda Fuerst has left Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin LLP to join Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP.
Fuerst joins the firm’s Toronto office as a partner in the litigation, regulation, and investigation teams. Her experience includes working as senior counsel at the Ontario Securities Commission, where she also serves as a member of the securities proceedings advisory committee.
“Linda is a tremendous addition to our litigation and regulation and investigations teams,” said Roger Smith, Norton Rose Fulbright’s national practice head of litigation in Canada.
“She is recognized as one of the top litigation lawyers in Canada in securities litigation, class actions, and regulatory matters. Regulation is a complex and growing area and a top concern for our clients and Linda will serve them extremely well.”
STUDENT LAW CLINIC OPENSA new legal clinic has opened with the launch of Lakehead Legal Services last week.
The service at Lakehead University that opened its doors last Monday is Ontario’s seventh student legal aid service society and the first in northern Ontario.
“We look forward to this exciting opportunity to provide our students with a dynamic, hands-on learning experience, while at the same time providing a much-needed service to the Thunder Bay and Fort William First Nation communities,” said Kimberley Gagan, founding director of the clinic.
The initial services offered will cover minor criminal and Highway Traffic Act offences. Four summer students have been working since May to begin serving clients this month. Once the clinic officially opens in September, second- and third-year students at the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law will be able to work at the clinic for course credits.
DENTONS U.S. MERGER TAKES EFFECTWhile the big news last week was about merger activity involving Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, there were happenings on other fronts this month as well.
On July 1, Dentons completed its merger with U.S. firm McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP. The merger under the Dentons US LLP banner creates a U.S. team comprising 1,100 lawyers and professionals at 21 locations.
Leading the U.S. firm are Jeff Haidet, who served as chairman of McKenna Long, and Peter Wolfson, previously managing partner of Dentons US.
“Just in the first half of this year, we have significantly advanced our global strategy, with a unique polycentric approach that highlights the importance of being in and of communities around the world,” said global chairman Joe Andrew. “Today’s milestone further supports that strategy with an enhanced presence in the U.S.”
POLL RESULTSThe results of the latest Law Times
online poll are in.
According to the poll, there’s big support for regulating law firms in addition to individual lawyers with 80 per cent of respondents saying they favour it. The poll follows the Law Society of Upper Canada’s move to launch a task force to look at compliance-based entity regulation.
On June 25, benchers voted to put together a task force to study and make recommendations on compliance-based entity regulation, an approach touted as being more proactive that’s already in use in Australia as well as England and Wales. The approach is attracting increasing interest in the United States and other jurisdictions. In Canada, the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society is in the process of implementing it.
Compliance-based regulation shifts the focus from responding to complaints and enforcement through discipline to setting out goals and expectations so lawyers can ensure they have the proper systems in place. The decision to look at the issue reflects the law society’s desire to keep up with changing times, according to Treasurer Janet Minor.
